


no pride, but plenty of embarrassment

by Elizabeth (anghraine)



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pride and Prejudice, Awkward Conversations, F/M, Gen, Meeting the Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-07
Updated: 2017-09-07
Packaged: 2018-12-25 01:40:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12025407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anghraine/pseuds/Elizabeth
Summary: In a kinder universe, Mako and Asami don't realize just how much worse things could be.





	no pride, but plenty of embarrassment

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pulpofiction (pifflapodus_scriptor)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pifflapodus_scriptor/gifts).



Yasuko Sato beamed at her daughter. “A  _boyfriend?_ Darling, how wonderful!”

With an edge of desperation, Asami said, “No, Mom. We haven’t even gone out yet. We’ve hardly talked. I just ran him over with my moped—”

“What?” Yasuko shook her head. “Young people these days.”

“It was an accident!” Even Asami heard the shrill note in her voice. Normally, she had no trouble keeping calm—by nature she was quiet and even-tempered, like her father. Her mother just brought out the worst in her, somehow. “I didn’t see him until he fell over. And he seemed kind of overwhelmed.”

“Well,” Yasuko pointed out, “you  _had_ just run him over.”

Asami winced. “Right. So I asked him out to dinner. That’s all.”

Her mother considered all this. “Well, it’s very promising;  _I_ certainly would not go to dinner with someone who ran me over with a moped.”

Asami was starting to regret explaining at all. “Mom—”

“I knew you could not be so beautiful for nothing!” Yasuko patted her cheek. “Who are his parents?”

“Dead, I think,” Asami said, and escaped to her father’s factory. Hiroshi, with a shrewd glance, just handed her a wrench. He jerked his head at a forklift.

“Something’s wrong with it.” Grimacing, he gestured at his spotless clothes and shiny shoes; he probably had a meeting. “Mind checking it out?”

She grinned. “Not at all.”

* * *

Yasuko waited up for her. She really did care, Asami reminded herself.  _She_ hadn’t been worried for herself at all, of course, not with Makoof all people—and besides, she wasn’t completely helpless. Last year, Yasuko had panicked over a cousin who got attacked by a waterbender just a mile away and insisted on Asami getting self-defense lessons. Lots of them.

Still, it was sweet. She kissed Yasuko and accepted her cup of tea.

“Well, I hope your young man was worth such a late night,” said Yasuko. It was as subtle a hint as she ever dropped. “Tell me  _all about it._ ”

Asami flushed. “He’s nice.”

“Does he have a name?” Yasuko pressed.

“Mako.”

Her mother frowned. “That sounds familiar. Where have I heard it before? Well, undoubtedly a different person—is he handsome? I hope so, dear, for your sake. It’d be a pity if you had ugly children.”

“ _Mom_ —” She loves me, Asami reminded herself, and took a sip of jasmine tea. Nobody made tea like Yasuko; it was better than Kwong’s by far. She relented. “He’s very good-looking. Tall, black hair, gold eyes.”

“Like your father,” said Yasuko approvingly.

Asami nearly laughed. “Uh, not really. He’s very athletic.” She blushed even more. “I mean, he’s a pro-bender.”

“A bender!” Her mother’s eyes lit up. “Oh! It is the one I remember, isn’t it? He was on the radio. That team you’re mad about.”

“I’m not …” With a look at her mother’s face, she gave up. “Yes, that’s him. The brilliant one, the firebender captain.”

 _“Oh.”_ Yasuko clasped her heart, nearly fluttering. “It’s such a relief, dear. You know what they say about firebenders.”

Asami didn’t know and she didn’t want to know. “Right.”

* * *

Mr Sato was great. Really great. Mako didn’t know what he’d have done without him—the factory didn’t pay much. And Asami was great, of course.

He snuck a glance across the table at her. She was chatting with her father about some kind of machinery, looking particularly pristine and unattainable. He still wasn’t entirely sure why she’d ever looked at him. Or stuck around. She liked pro-bending, but … nobody liked pro-bending  _that_ much.

Asami caught his glance and grinned, suddenly the girl who’d knocked him off his feet. Literally. Mr Sato returned his attention to his rice and Asami winked.

He was still gazing stupidly at her when something touched his wrist. Mako nearly jumped out of his chair.

Mrs Sato laughed and patted his wrist. “Tell me about your family, Mako.”

She … wasn’t as great. “Um. I have a little brother. Bolin.”

“The earthbender?” she said.

Mako frowned a little. “ _An_ earthbender, yeah.”

“Marvelous!” said Mrs Sato. “And tell me, dear, what do you do when you aren’t pro-bending?”

For one moment, he imagined telling her about the Triads. A petty part of his soul wanted to, just to see the look on her face. But he didn’t want Asami to know. And he definitely didn’t want Mr Sato to know. Even Mrs Sato didn’t really deserve a shock like that.

“I’m a lightningbender at a factory,” he said.

He hadn’t really wanted them to know about that, either.

“Mako’s a good hard worker,” said Mr Sato approvingly. “He’s going places.”

“A  _lightningbender_ ,” Mrs Sato breathed. “Then you can look after our Asami just fine. You don’t know what a relief it is.” She gazed up at him, eyelashes fluttering, and Mako turned even redder than when Asami first did that hair thing. He had no idea what to say.

“I can look after myself,” said Asami. She was embarrassed, he realized.  _Asami._ “Mom, did you know about the waterbender on Mako’s team?”

“I don’t really follow pro-bending,” her mother said. Thankfully, she loosened her grip—near as strong as Korra’s—and he managed to politely free himself, pretending he was still hungry.

“Korra,” said Asami. 

Mrs Sato gasped. “The  _Avatar!_ You know her? What is she like?”

“Strong.” He thought about Korra. “Determined. She’s got a short temper, but she works hard and cares about people.”

Belatedly, he realized those probably weren’t the things Mrs Sato wanted to know.

Asami, who obviously had no delusions about her mother, said, “She’s pretty and nice. I hope we’ll be friends.”

Mako hoped so too. But he had the sense to keep quiet around Mrs Sato. It wasn’t hard; she all but singlehandedly carried on the conversation for the rest of the evening. He ignored her as much as he could and smiled at Asami every time she started to look even a little unhappy. Mr Sato saw, but he didn’t kill him. He just laughed, clapped his shoulder halfway through dinner, and disappeared into his office.

“Don’t mind him,” said Mrs Sato brightly. “ _Oh_ , can you show us lightningbending?”

“Mom!”

**Author's Note:**

> I posted this two years ago on Tumblr, and ... I don't know why P&P!Masami ever entered my head, and I have no memory of writing it. I get a huge kick out of it anyway :P


End file.
